This Is The One
by MTK4FUN
Summary: After some dating disasters, Peeta Mellark comes up with an unusual idea to nudge the universe into sending him "the one." A contemporary Everlark AU one-shot. Written for Prompts in Panem's Final Tribute Special Challenge, November 2016.


"Give me that twenty." Peeta Mellark grabbed the cash from his brother's hand.

"What the hell," Rye said. "The beers are on me. You paid last week."

"I know. And you're still paying. I just want to write something down on it."

Peeta pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and set the bill onto the damp bar counter.

" _This is the one,"_ he wrote in block letters to the right of Andrew Jackson's head.

"Isn't it a crime to write on legal tender?"

"So turn me in." Peeta handed the twenty to the waiting bartender and shoved the pen back into his pocket.

"What did you write?"

"I wrote a message to my future self. The next time I see that twenty it will be in the hands of the one who is meant for me."

Rye let out a snort. "What, like your soulmate? It sounds like you're watching the Lifetime Channel again."

The two men got off their bar stools, and walked out of the tavern and down the sidewalk in the direction of Rye's car.

"You know Peeta, you're making this more complicated than it needs to be. So Nutmeg or Clove or whatever the hell that spice girl's name was didn't work out. She's not the only woman in the world."

Peeta sighed. "You're right. But damn it all, Rye. I thought I'd be settling down by now. I didn't expect to still be alone."

"So you're turning thirty next year. You'll meet someone." His brother laughed. "Crap, wouldn't it be funny if Darius showed up at the bakery with that twenty."

Peeta frowned at his brother's jibe. Darius had gone to high school with them. He'd acted just as girl-crazy as the other guys, but a few years after they graduated, he'd come out to the surprise of everyone who knew him.

"It won't be Darius." Hell, even Darius, who bore a striking resemblance to Alfred E. Newman with his red hair and protruding ears, was married now.

"Stop worrying about it little brother. It will all work out." Rye unlocked the driver's side door of his car. "Want a ride home?"

"Nah, I'll walk. It's only a few blocks. Give my love to Delly."

Rye waved, and drove off leaving Peeta on the sidewalk staring after him. Never in a million years had Peeta expected that he'd end up being the old bachelor, while his womanizing brother would be the married man.

Peeta had dated in college, but no one seriously. Afterwards he'd spent several years getting his bakery up and running, and then remodeling the apartment over it to make a cozy home.

But by the time the business was turning a regular profit and his loft was exactly the way he wanted it, both of his brothers and all of his friends had paired up. He was the odd man out.

A year ago, over their regular Friday night beers, Peeta had foolishly admitted to Rye that he was lonely. "I'd just like to meet a nice girl and settle down."

Due to his brother's big mouth, that confession had led to some godawful matchmaking attempts by family and friends.

His sister-in-law Delly had a relative who was artistic. "Weren't you an art minor, Peeta?"

Delly introduced Peeta to her cousin, Cressida. While Cressida had a pleasant personality, she was at least ten years older than him. And her appearance was unconventional - half of her head was shaved and covered with tattooed vines. Maybe he was too picky, but he'd prefer a woman closer to his own age, who looked, well, "normal."

His friend Finnick set Peeta up with his co-worker, Johanna. "She's a firecracker."

And she had been. Johanna was stark naked when she answered the door for their first date. While Peeta wasn't a prude, Johanna's aggressiveness took him aback. He'd much prefer a woman with a sense of modesty and a bit more reserve.

He'd met Clove himself. She managed a store in the mall, where Peeta had gone to purchase some new bread knives for the bakery.

But after a few dates, when their kisses had turned heated on her couch, Clove had removed her blouse to reveal a giant tattoo of a man's smiling face on her mid-section.

Peeta's eyes had grown big at the sight. "Who's that?"

"It's Cato, my old boyfriend."

Disappointment coursed through Peeta. He wasn't looking for a nun by any means, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life being intimate with a woman who bore another man's face on her belly.

That's when Peeta decided to give up looking for _"the one."_ He wasn't going to waste anymore time dating until he got a direct sign from the universe.

 _But what kind of sign?_

After a week of waiting for a lightening bolt to point him in the direction of true love, Peeta came up with an idea while counting up the cash in the register.

He'd write a message on a twenty-dollar bill and then pass it along with an explicit request to the universe: _Let it_ _return in the hands of the one who is meant for me._

Heaven knew his register was full of twenties at the end of every day. Peeta would be sure to tell his employees to get him out of the kitchen immediately if a customer brought in a twenty with any writing on it.

But as he walked home from the tavern on that warm June evening, the idea which had seemed so clever when he'd thought of it, seemed completely stupid now. What made him think he had the power to make the universe play by _his_ rules?

Still, since he'd already put his mark on the twenty he might as well give it a fair shot and see what happened.

Rye was less patient. He pointed out every attractive woman that entered the tavern when they met up on Fridays.

"Why don't you talk to her?"

Peeta shook his head. "No. I'm waiting for that twenty to show up. Besides you're married, you shouldn't even be looking."

"I'm only looking for you Peetie."

Peeta doubted his sister-in-law Delly would agree with that sentiment.

By fall, Rye was mocking him. "You're wasting your time. Some old granny must have gotten hold of that twenty and mailed it to her grandson in Timbuktu. It's probably left this town forever."

Peeta had thought the same thing as he decorated wedding cakes all summer long. Maybe he should have written messages on a few more twenties to increase his odds.

Still he decided to hang in for a while longer.

 _I'll give it to the end of the year. If she hasn't showed up by then, I'll come up with another plan._

But waiting for " _the one"_ was frustrating. He needed to do _something_ that would make him feel like he was making progress so he began a campaign of self-improvement: working out at the gym, watching his diet, improving his wardrobe, cleaning up his apartment, and reading bestsellers so he had something to talk to _"the one"_ about when they finally met.

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Katniss Everdeen stood in front of Abernathy's Jewelers pulling her coat tightly around her narrow shoulders. The smell of baking bread emanating from the bakery across the street reminded her that she'd skipped lunch.

Biting her lip, she read the sign in the window. _We purchase gold, silver, and vintage jewelry_.

Katniss didn't want to sell the pearl necklace around her neck, but she needed the money. Her father had given it to her mother on their first wedding anniversary. Her mother had cherished it while he was alive, and after his death it had taken on even greater significance. When her mother was sad, she'd rub the pearl across her lips and remind her daughters that their father was still watching over the family.

But Katniss' mother had died months ago. Her sister Primrose thought the setting that held the pearl was too old-fashioned, so Katniss had taken to wearing it.

It provided great comfort in the midst of her grief; it seemed as if both her parents were watching over her. But the time for sentimentality had ended; she had to be practical.

She clutched the pearl in her hand, rubbing it across her lips, the same way her mother had done, and then reached for the door handle of the jewelry shop.

A bell rang overhead as she entered. Facing her were display cases arranged in a "U" shape.

A middle-aged, potbellied man sat on a stool behind the main display counter reading a magazine. He lifted his head and spoke, as she walked up.

"I'm Haymitch Abernathy. How can I help you?"

Katniss glanced at the items in the glass case in front of her. Rings, pins, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets were on display. Some were elegant, others were gaudy, but all were one-of-a-kind.

"I have a pearl necklace I'd like to sell." She reached for the heavy silver chain that lay on her neck to pull the pearl pendant out from underneath her blouse.

"Take the necklace off so I can see it better."

She reached her hands behind her neck and unsnapped the clasp, re-snapping it before handing it over to the store's owner.

He picked up a loupe and held it to his eye to study it closely.

"It's a fine piece. What do you want for it?"

 _What do I want?_ She thought he was supposed to make _her_ an offer.

"I'm not sure what it's worth."

"Well, it obviously means a lot to you if you wore it in. Most people bring the items they want to sell in boxes or cloth sacks."

"It was my mother's."

"And you need the money?"

"Yes." As soon as the word was out of her mouth, she wanted to kick herself. Now he'd lowball her because she'd admitted she was desperate.

"Look, I don't think this is such a good idea." She put out her hand to take back the necklace. As soon as it was on her neck again, she turned to leave.

"Wait," the jeweler called out before she got to the door. "Do you need work?"

Katniss turned back to him. "I have a job."

"But it clearly doesn't pay enough if you need to sell your mother's necklace."

He was right. It didn't pay enough. Her mother's death had put her in a financial hole – trapped in a lease for a pricy apartment that they'd rented only because it was close to the hospital where her mother needed treatment. The apartment had been affordable with her salary and her mother's pension, but the pension stopped after her mother's unexpected death.

"I'm looking to hire someone to assist me during the holidays. It gets busy this time of year."

"I'm only available to work on the weekends."

"That would be ideal. Weekends are the busiest."

A temporary job for the holidays would be a considerable help to her. Her lease would end in a few months and then she could find a cheaper place to live.

"And if you still want to unload that necklace, bring it along when you come to work. If it sells, I'll take a 20 percent cut, you can have the other 80 percent."

 _That seemed quite generous, more than she expected._

She stood up straighter. "When would you like me to start?"

"This Saturday. Be here at 9 a.m. sharp."

Katniss' rubbed the pearl idly between her right forefinger and thumb as she left the shop. She'd meant to sell the necklace, but had ended up with a job instead. Maybe it was a sign from her parents that things were going to improve. She hoped so.

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It was a week before Christmas when Peeta set off to do his holiday shopping.

He walked down Main Street, making purchases at the shops of the neighboring merchants. His arms were laden with packages when he arrived at the jewelry store, located across the street from the bakery.

He wasn't planning to purchase anything there, but the shop had opened six months earlier and he'd never even been inside of it. At the very least, he should introduce himself to the owner.

A petite woman, with long, dark hair, was at the register ringing up a sale for an older gentleman when he walked in.

She handed him a wrapped box. The man left, leaving Peeta alone with her.

"Can I help you?" She smiled, causing the corners of her silvery-colored eyes to crinkle ever so slightly.

In that instant Peeta forgot all about the twenty-dollar bill he'd been waiting for the universe to return to him.

This woman was _"the one;"_ he was sure of it. Dressed in a pale blue, button-down blouse and dark slacks, free of any make-up, even lacking a single piece of jewelry, she appeared so natural, so real.

Peeta grinned at her stupidly. _Could she help him? Maybe she could give him her phone number?_

But then he remembered the promise he'd made to himself to give the universe until the end of the year to kick into action. It now seemed like a terrible burden.

The woman stared at him, and Peeta realized she was waiting for an answer to her question.

"I was looking for the owner," he blurt out. "Is it you?"

She shook her head. "No. But Mr. Abernathy will be in tomorrow if you're looking to sell him some jewelry."

"I don't have anything to sell. I just stopped by to introduce myself. I'm Peeta Mellark. I own the bakery across the street."

She didn't respond and he grew flustered.

Eager to get her talking, his eyes dropped to the display case in front of him.

"You have some beautiful jewelry for sale."

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Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss had noticed the striking man overloaded with shopping bags come into the store, while she was ringing up a sale. His cheeks were flushed, his blue eyes lively, and his blond hair curled around the edges of his green knit cap.

Likely he came in to buy a gift for his wife or girlfriend.

Maybe someday she'd be lucky enough to meet a handsome man like him who would sweep her off her feet, someone who would love her as much as her dad had loved her mom.

Katniss had put off so much of her life, helping her sister through school and taking care of her mother that she'd dated very little in recent years. She yearned to find someone to love who would love her back the same.

She glanced down through the glass counter at her mother's necklace laid out for sale in a velvet-lined box. Katniss put it in the display case while she worked, knowing that she needed the money it represented, but secretly hoping it would never sell.

Peeta, who'd told her that he owned the bakery across the street, dropped his eyes to the case, studying each piece carefully.

"It's all old," he commented.

"Abernathy's specializes in vintage jewelry. Some of it's newly made to resemble classic styles, while other pieces were previously-owned." Inwardly she winced at her words. She sounded like a game show hostess describing the prizes contestants could win.

"There must be some interesting stories behind some of the pre-owned pieces." He looked up and caught her eye, and then smiled.

Nervousness took hold of her as she returned his gaze. It was like staring at the sun. Her eyes flitted away. "There are."

That was one of the most interesting things about the job at Abernathy's– the stories behind each item. Mr. Abernathy had told her several. Many pieces had come from the estates of elderly, deceased persons, well-loved items that had been valued by their owners. Jewelry bathed in love from the giver and treasured by the recipient.

"Would you like me to take anything out of the case so you can look at it more closely?"

"Yes, I'd like to see that pearl necklace."

Katniss heart skipped a beat at his words. _Damn it_. She shouldn't have put it on display today. While a few customers had commented on her mother's necklace, no one had ever asked her to remove it from the case to inspect it.

Hopefully Peeta would just look.

She slid the glass case open and pulled out the black, velvet box.

He reached for it and lifted it up to study, running his finger tenderly across the pearl. "Do you know the story behind this piece?"

Katniss could hardly breathe. "A man gave it to his wife on their first wedding anniversary. She wore it all her life. Sadly they are both deceased now."

He gave her a serious look. "It sounds as if they had a good marriage."

"They did." Her voice broke at the end, but Peeta didn't seem to notice.

"I think I'd like to purchase this necklace. It has an overwhelming feeling of happiness and love about it."

"Would you like me to wrap it for you?" Katniss needed to go into the backroom and calm herself. She thought she might cry.

"You don't need to wrap it."

"I'm sure your wife will like it very much," she babbled.

"Oh, I'm not married."

"Your girlfriend then." Already she hated this unknown woman who already had a handsome boyfriend and would now have the pearl necklace as well.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

 _What the hell?_ If he hadn't been standing in front of her with a couple of hundred-dollar bills, she would have thrown him out of the store. Was he buying it to give away to whatever random woman struck his fancy?

 _What did he intend to do with her mother's necklace?_

Katniss took the money from him, and counted back his change. He made a careful study of the twenty-dollar bill she handed him, frowning slightly as he put it into his wallet.

She handed him a plastic bag that contained the necklace, snug in the velvet box.

Peeta put the small bag into one of the larger bags he carried. "Thanks for your help….

He kept staring at her and she couldn't understand why until it dawned on Katniss that he was waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Katniss," she muttered, ordering him mentally to get out of the store before she collapsed in tears.

"Well, thank you for helping me Katniss. Stop by Mellark's Bakery sometime for a pastry. I'm just across the street."

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Peeta walked out of the jewelry shop in high spirits. The necklace had been an impulse buy, but something about it called out to him, likely it was Katniss' story of its history. It was exactly the sort of thing he envisioned the woman he was waiting for would wear – something simple and old-fashioned.

And if she didn't show up by the end of the year, Peeta was going straight back to the jewelry shop to ask Katniss out on a date. It had taken every bit of strength to keep his mouth shut today. Katniss was stunning. In fact, the pearl necklace he'd purchased would look great on her.

The busyness of the holiday rush kept him from brooding over the matter, but on Christmas Day as he sat around the table watching his family celebrate, despair descended upon him. His older brother and his wife already had two young children. Then Rye announced that Delly was expecting.

Afterward his mother made a sarcastic comment about him being alone. For a brief moment Peeta feared Rye might reveal that he'd wasted the last six months waiting for a wayward twenty-dollar bill to return to him in the hands of his true love. But Rye stayed quiet, instead shaking his head sadly at Peeta.

The day after New Year's, Peeta went across the street to Abernathy's. He was done waiting on the universe to help him. He was going to ask Katniss out on a date.

But she wasn't there. Instead, a middle-aged, pot-bellied man was behind the counter. He lifted his head from the magazine he was perusing.

"Can I help you?"

"I hope so. I was looking for Katniss. Is she working today?"

"Katniss Everdeen? Oh, she's gone. She was only temporary help for the holidays. I'm the owner, Haymitch Abernathy. Maybe I can assist you with something?"

Peeta's heart fell. "No, I just wanted to speak with her. Do you know how I can reach her?"

Haymitch frowned. "I can't give out her personal information. But I expect she'll be by one of these days to pick up her last check. Do you want to leave your number?"

"Would you ask her to stop by the bakery across the street. I'm Peeta Mellark, the owner. It's important that I speak with her."

"All right."

But days passed and Katniss didn't show up at the bakery.

"I wonder if that Abernathy guy even gave her my message," Peeta groused to Rye over their weekly beer.

"Well I'm glad to see you've given up on finding _`the one'_ at any rate. Why don't you ask that woman out?" Rye pointed to a redhead in the corner.

"She came in here with someone; I think he's in the bathroom. For crying out loud Rye, I can do better than to steal another guy's woman."

Besides he wasn't looking for a redhead. He was looking for a brunette with silvery eyes. He's spent an entire evening googling her name, trying to track Katniss Everdeen down, but it was hopeless. Apparently she kept herself off all social media, which both pleased and frustrated him.

He was just turning over the sign on the bakery's heavy glass door from "Open" to "Closed" on the following Monday when he saw Katniss on the other side, her hand on the knob.

His heart pounded as he let her in.

"Did Abernathy give you my message?"

She shook her head.

Damn the man. But at least she was here. "Finally decided to stop by for that pastry then?" It sounded lame, but he was so overjoyed to see Katniss that he temporarily lost his ability to think.

She was even prettier than he remembered. Her long hair was braided and it hung down over her left shoulder. He had the strange urge to fondle it between his fingers.

"No. I wanted to talk to you about the pearl necklace you bought."

 _Why would she care about that?_

"I'd like to buy it back from you. That is, if you haven't given it away to anyone yet." Her face was pinched, like she might start crying.

"I still have it."

"Oh good." She let out a sharp breath of air, as if in relief.

"Is something wrong with it?"

"No, it's just that I never should have sold it to you."

"Why not?"

"The woman I told you about, who received it as an anniversary gift, well, she was my mother."

"Wait here, it's upstairs in my apartment. I'll go get it."

He walked behind the counter first though, pulling out a cheese bun. "I'm all out of pastries, but you might like this."

As he was climbing the stairs to his apartment, a momentary panic struck him that he'd just left a woman he didn't know alone in his shop with the register still uncounted. She could easily empty the cash drawer and rob him of the day's earnings.

He hoped he was wrong about Katniss - since she already stolen his heart - but after all his bad experiences with women he couldn't help but be nervous.

Peeta carried the velvet box downstairs. Katniss stood in front of the counter, wiping crumbs from her face. She had a fistful of bills in one hand.

"I've added in the money for the cheese bun. It was delicious."

 _She was paying for the cheese bun too? What kind of person would do that?_

All his suspicious thoughts about her flew out of his mind.

He held out the box. "Here."

She reached for it, dropped it into her purse, and then presented him with the cash.

 _Surely she must be experiencing some kind of financial difficulty to have sold the necklace in the first place._

He made a quick decision. "I can't take your money Katniss."

Her face grew red. "No, I'm paying for it."

He shook his head.

She threw the bills down onto the counter and fled from the store.

 _Damn it all._

It wasn't how he expected things to go between them. He wanted to chase after Katniss, but what good what it do? She obviously was embarrassed about the whole matter. He doubted that she'd ever agree to date him now.

Sighing, he picked up the bills scattered across the counter when one caught his eye because of the writing next to Andrew Jackson's face.

It had faded over the past six months, but the message still remained. _This is the one._

 _He had picked Katniss even before the universe had confirmed it._

Peeta had no choice now. He _had_ to go after her. His entire future depended on it.

Locking the door behind him, he sprinted down the sidewalk fearing that Katniss had already gotten into her car and driven away. His eyes scanned the street.

It seemed like a cruel twist of fate that he's come across _"the one,"_ only to have her run off.

The whoosh of airbrakes caused him to look ahead at the bus stop at the end of the block. A few people got on, but it was the last person who caught his attention. _Katniss._

Frantic that he'd never find her again, Peeta ran off the sidewalk and into the street, raising his hands to stop the moving bus.

The tires squealed, but the vehicle stopped and Peeta climbed aboard. He fished about his pockets, looking for change.

"You're lucky I didn't run you down," the driver chastised him, as he dropped some coins into the pay slot.

The bus began moving again and Peeta stumbled down the aisle. He took a seat as close to Katniss as possible. He twisted his body to look in her direction, but she turned her head away from him, not meeting his eyes.

When her seatmate exited a few stops later, Peeta got up and sat down next to her.

Katniss scowled. "Why are you following me? I'm not accepting my money back."

"It's not that. There was some writing on one of the twenties."

"What? It's still good though, still legal tender, even with writing on it."

"Of course it's still good. It's just that there was a specific message written on that bill for me."

As he spoke aloud, Peeta realized how nutty he sounded. Katniss would think he was a lunatic.

"A message?"

"Yes. I wrote a message to myself on that twenty over six months ago, and I asked the universe for a sign. When I see that bill again, let it be in the hands of "the one."

Her eyes narrowed. "The one?"

"The one meant for me."

Her cheeks colored. "Meant for you? Are you serious?"

It suddenly dawned on Peeta that perhaps Katniss wasn't available. Perhaps she had a boyfriend or husband even. Maybe like Darius, she was attracted to persons of her same gender. Still he'd waited and hoped for so long that he'd meet someone. He couldn't help but bare himself before her.

"It probably sounds ridiculous, but after some bad luck dating, I decided to stop until the universe gave me a sign. I wrote a message on a twenty-dollar bill and sent it out into the world with a wish that the bill would return to me in the hands of the woman I was meant to be with. I think it's you."

Katniss bit on her lower lip and turned to look out the bus window.

Peeta's heart dropped at her rejection. "I've completely creeped you out. I'm sorry. I'll get off at the next stop."

Katniss turned back to him, her eyes wet with tears. "No, don't. My mother used to say that Dad was watching over her, over us, when she wore the necklace.

"After she died, I took to wearing it because I wanted to think both my parents were watching over me now. But then, well, I needed the money so I put it in the display case to sell.

"When you came in the shop that day, I couldn't help wishing I would meet someone who would sweep me off my feet and love me as much as my dad loved my mother. But it seemed too fantastic to imagine."

 _Could it be possible that Katniss was as hungry for love as he?_

"I think I was meant to buy your mother's necklace Katniss, just as you were meant to want it back so badly that you would bring me that twenty. I think the universe has conspired to bring us together."

"Well they say the universe works in mysterious ways, although I think my parents may have played a hand in it too."

She smiled, and his heart nearly burst, pleased that Katniss had so readily accepted his explanation about the writing on the twenty. Whether it was the universe or her deceased parents or random chance, didn't matter. _The One_ was sitting next to him and he couldn't wait to learn everything about her.

He grinned at her stupidly for a few seconds, before speaking. "My favorite color is orange. What's yours?"

THE END


End file.
